Enhancing Public Transport Connections to the Upper Toggenburg through the Mobility Solution ‘Winter-Hit Chäserrugg’ (MoWiChä)

The project develops and tests a new mobility solution for the Upper Toggenburg – a region which, despite its high touristic appeal in the winter season, is still insufficiently served by public transport. Building on the findings of the SUSMOBTOGG research project, a twelve-week pilot will introduce an express bus connection between Wattwil railway station and the Unterwasser valley station of the Toggenburg cable cars. This service links fast train connections from St. Gallen and the Rapperswil region directly to the ski area, offering a seamless, comfortable connection without intermediate stops and with an attractive frequency.

At the heart of the project is an integrated, experience-oriented mobility package that combines rail, bus, and cable car services at a reduced price. The offer also includes additional qualitative benefits such as guidance during transfers, vouchers for coffee or snacks, and local locker services. The proposed solution will be tested in the 2025/2026 winter season. Its aim is to reduce private motorized traffic and make public transport so attractive that it triggers a real behavioral shift among day visitors.

The project unites three strong partners: Zurich University of Applied Sciences (scientific monitoring), SOB (train feeder services and distribution), and Toggenburg Bergbahnen (regional integration and customer engagement). The project is structured around four work packages: package development, operational implementation, scientific monitoring, and the rollout of the mobility solution. With its level of innovation, scalability, and direct impact on sustainable mobility, the project makes a targeted contribution to Measure SG-12 of the St. Gallen Energy Concept 2021–2030.